British police left a 13-year-old boy in the home of a paedophile for almost two hours to protect a covert operation.

Senior officers at Greater Manchester Police Force were told not to act when they realised the boy had gone into the house of Dominic Noonan, a known criminal leader and sex offender in the British city, The Times reports.

The force was carrying out surveillance on Noonan, who last month was found guilty of 13 charges of historical sex offences against four young boys.

At the time, police had intelligence he was a predatory pedophile.

Noonan closed the doors and curtains after the boy went inside.

He already had convictions for firearm offences and robbery, but the police had intelligence he had committed offences of rape, under-age sexual intercourse and sexual assault.

It was suggested police could have sent a uniformed officer to the flat without risking the operation, but didn’t.